Comments

catch22

Not sure what happened to that post, it should say: Zorromcgee, not sure where you got your info from but gov**** says: The percentages those on welfare by race as of 2011 are listed below in descending order by percentage. Black-39.8% White-38.8% Hispanic-15.7% Other-3.3% Asian-2.4%

catch22

ZorThe percentages those on welfare by race as of 2011 are listed below in descending order by percentage. Black-39.8% White-38.8% Hispanic-15.7% Other-3.3% Asian-2.4%romcgee: not sure where you got your info from but gov**** says:

Auntydem

Men who reached age 65 in 1950 had a remaining life expectancy of 12.8 years. In 2009 it was 17.6 years. But divide those men into 2 groups ranked by income, and the bottom half have an expectancy of 16.1 more years and the upper half have an expectancy of 21.5 more years.

That’s only 3.3 years longer than in 1950 for the bottom half, but 8.7 years more for those with the highest incomes.

The retirement age is already 67 for anyone born in 1960 and later. The age should not be raised again.

OldJournalCarrier

Schools are banding together because farm subsidies have killed all the small towns. They have greatly reduced the number of farmers by giving the most money to the biggest farmers, who just keep on getting bigger. Less famers = less small towns needed to support them = less kids = less schools. Like most everything else that goes on in this country, follow the money....

mnsotn

Can someone then explain why Southern Republican states take more money from the federal government compared to the Northern states? If their Republican ideals are working so well for them, why do they need more in government subsidies? Why do they have higher unemployment rates?

JReader

For instance, could there be more caucasians on welfare simply because there are more caucasians ? A more meaningful comparison should be made between a group and their peers. For instance, what "percentage" of caucasians in this country are welfare recpients ?

And, what are you trying to imply about a GOP state and it's relation to someone receiving welfare benefits ? Are you suggesting there is a correlation between party affiliation and poverty ? It would be very interesting if that statement could somehow be backed with empirical evidence of some sort.

JReader

I think school districts banding together has more to with population trends than with there being a lack of children born. Over the last century more people have left rural areas and moved to more urban areas. There are far fewer farmers today and the ones in farming are running much larger farms than a generation or two ago. This has limited employment opportunities in more rural ares forcing people to seek jobs elsewhere.

There are a couple of reasons social security is in trouble. First, people are simply living longer today than when social security began. Second, we have a bubble called the "baby boomers" hitting retirement today which is placing a big strain on social security funding. These problems are fixable if we would ever get a congress and president to work together.

One thing I do think is disturbing. Our government seems to want to reward irresponsible behavior. If you want more aid you simply need to have more babies. It is counter-intutive IMO.

Integrity

I definitely can understand his point of view. I know they're some generalities, but EVERY argument uses them to some degree. It's scary to see how many life decisions we, the voting public, are telling the govt we need made for us. Take a look at all the expanded services that we want the govt to provide and ask yourself-how many of these can be solved by a good education(plenty of existing programs to help with that already), dependable work ethic, and some patience/dedication (no one goes to work entry level, ends up CEO by the end of the day)?? That's what this letter is saying-look back at previous generations - they figured it out and worked through it instead of jumped on the provided wagon.

yunosmart

Gay couples can't have kids on their own, but they can use surrogates and artificial insemination. Looks like some old folks are getting mad that they don't have a free ride anymore. I also like how you imply that all immigrants are illegal who still get government checks. Most illegals work, and often for less than minimum wage. They don't pay taxes on that income. If they were legal, they would have a minimum wage, labor intensive job that no one wants to do, and they would pay taxes.

yunosmart

Gay couples can't have kids on their own, but they can use surrogates and artificial insemination. Looks like some old folks are getting mad that they don't have a free ride anymore. I also like how you imply that all immigrants are illegal who still get government checks. Most illegals work, and often for less than minimum wage. They don't pay taxes on that income. If they were legal, they would have a minimum wage, labor intensive job that no one wants to do, and they would pay taxes.